Monsters and Slaves
by Sir-Spoder
Summary: This is a story about Faunus slavery and how Blake deals seeing her people sweat and bleed under the whips of oppression. A short story I wrote for a contest on the RWBY subreddit called MONCON (you can look up the contest on reddit, it's like a monthly contest they do there, it's pretty fun). The primary theme of the contest is "New Beginnings"


**Author's Note: This story takes place before the events of the Black Trailer.**

* * *

The fall season represented many different things to many different people. To the people of Mistral, fall represented change. Poets and artists called it the only constant that existed in life. Some lamented in their literature the changing of the body and the mind as one grew older, others celebrated it when glancing at the glorious beauty placed upon the colors of the trees, using it as inspiration for their art and an occasion for their festivities.

But to Blake Belladonna, it represented a different type of change, one she could only hope to see in her dreams: new beginnings, new life – for her people.

Blending into the vast sea of people parading the streets during one of these pretentious festivals was one of the easier things Blake had done in her life. It really showed you how people could only see what they wanted to see.

What was not easy however was watching her kind sweat and bleed for the sake of the rich snobs' entertainment.

This year they went out with a little more extravagance than the last, sparing no expenses.

They built big stone altars, gigantic marble statues, and giant elaborate stages, all of which were on the backs of laboring Faunus. Seeing how these people kept on laughing obliviously in their pompous and gaudy celebrations simply made her sick.

The people of Mistral were putting on a façade, because they liked to pretend that they were civilized people, pretending that they had changed after the Great War. But the truth of the matter was – old habits die hard.

Before the fireworks, before the laughter and cheer, before the festivities…

There were the whips.

There were the lashes.

There were the cries of her people.

On the week before the night of the festival, Blake had snuck out under a disguise to the site where the festivity would've been. She had fully expected to see something terrible, but the things she saw was eternally burned into her mind.

"WINTER!" The wolf Faunus screamed, pulling away a cart full of stones.

"Spring," the fox Faunus whimpered, hammering away at the rocks.

"Summer!" The bear Faunus wailed, as they got lashed by the leather whip.

"FALL!" The deer Faunus cried, as they fell to the soil soaked in blood.

They screamed, they whimpered, they wailed, they cried to the gods above seeking deliverance, only to be interrupted by the crack of the whip and the howl of the Monsters:

"FASTER!"

Blake stood behind the shadows, watching on as the horror before her continued until the burning sun descended beyond the horizon. It felt like an eternity.

"Winter, protect me," the wolf howled, as he was struck by the hands of man.

"Pick up the pace!"

"Spring, heal my wounds," the fox moaned, as the leather slashed across his face.

"Get up, get up!"

"Summer, give me strength," the bear grunted, striking the rocks with fury and pain.

"Move, you filthy animals!"

"Fall… deliver me to your grace…" the deer drew her last breath, falling to the soil soaked in blood.

"Leave her, the Grimm will come."

That was the way things went in the past, the way it was going at that moment, and the way things will continue to go in the future. They weren't even allowed to weep aloud for fear of Grimm. No graves, no tombstone, left to rot as the dark creatures circled the remaining soulless flesh.

In the distance, safe behind walls and shelters those Monsters with the whips continued to laugh.

Amidst the splashing sweat and the staining blood, Blake began to hear whispers of prayers. Not just praying for shelter from the punishment, but praying for something else as well, or rather someone else – a savior.

"Winter, bless the sky above he who will save us."

"Spring, bless the grounds below he who will rescue us."

"Summer, bless the horse of he who will ride in to free us."

"Fall, bless the heart of he who will deliver us."

"Get back to work you beasts, or ten lashes be unto ye."

That night Blake wept under the moonlight shining into her room, for she knew she had fortune and luxury those poor Faunus slaves did not have. She lived most her life knowing how unjust and horrid the world could be, but she had never truly witnessed the pain first hand. She never fully understood how close they were to the home she had in the South. How widespread and rampant the oppression was.

As she looked up through her window and the cold breeze entered, she saw the withering leaves upon a tree growing outside in a small garden. She had been taking care of that tree herself ever since she was a child, it used to be so much smaller, young and full of potential. Now the barks had begun to crack while the dark crimson leaves faded away into the blowing wind.

She had realized one thing as the leaves flew away into the distance: nothing had changed.

The Seasons had abandoned them.

The Seasons did not care for mortal's suffering.

The kingdoms were still there standing.

The Faunus were still slaves.

And the Monsters were still cruel.

She had to do something, but her heart was still uncertain, beating beats unfamiliar to her, tunes that were strange to her ears. She had heard the cries of her people, crying for help, crying for a savior. Deep down she wanted to be that savior. But deep down she also knew she did not have the strength to power through that uncertainty, that weakness that haunted her entire being.

Deep down she knew she could not be that savior they longed for.

"Blake?" A knock was heard on her door, "You in there?"

"Huh? Yeah, Adam, I'm here."

The young man took a peek inside. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking behind his mask, but the girl knew Adam well. She could feel his restlessness all the way from where she sat. He was ready for another mission.

"I've made an appointment with some of the Faunus workers," he said. "They told me to meet them tonight by the river where there's nobody around."

"Did anybody see you?" Blake asked, "You know there's a strict curfew for all Faunus at night, right? It's not safe to just wander around."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Now let's go. The guys are waiting downstairs."

"Oh thank Fall…" she muttered.

"And quit that Fall, Autumn nonsense you hear?" Adam suddenly snapped, "Those children fairy tales won't help anybody. It never has. There are no gods looking after us. We have to do things by ourselves. Now come on."

"Um, right. Sorry."

She quickly gathered her equipment and leapt off into the hallway.

"And stop apologizing will ya?" Said Adam as they walked, "You have to be strong, assertive. I won't always be here, Blake. I hope you understand that."

"I do, Adam. I do," the girl gave him a warm smile as he nodded back in approval.

There were two other Faunus waiting down the stairs with a pair of lanterns lit up in the night. The light was blurry but somehow felt warm. The four of them did not have much on them other than a brown leather cloak each before heading out into the darkness of the moon. It wasn't because they weren't afraid of being assaulted, rather it was because they believed the night will protect them from harm. They could see things the Monsters could not while submerged in the sea of darkness.

"So what did the workers want to talk about?" Blake asked.

"They said they are willing to side with us when we go and confront those human scums, but they're just unsure if the others are willing to do the same."

"Do you think we'll be able to convince them?"

"We'll convince them, Blake," Adam said firmly. "All of them. We will free every last one of them from the hell they are living in – and that is a promise."

It was then when Blake finally had a revelation. It was so clear, and yet she couldn't see it before now. They didn't need no god or deity to free them from the Monsters who had conquered this land. The savior they all so desperately desired was right there in front of them this whole time. A savior there to bring them to a new life, new beginnings. It was almost too good to be true.

But Blake believed in him, and that was all that mattered.


End file.
